Randi Zuckerberg on why we need to unplug

Former Facebook exec and sister of Facebook founder shares her tips on unplugging from our digital lives.

It's not at all unusual to hear people talking about the need to unplug, particularly when that message comes from a parent. What is unusual however is when that message comes from a Zuckerberg.

Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Facebook-founder Mark Zuckerberg, and a former marketing executive at the company, is reminding folks of the need to step back from Facebook (and Twitter, and Instagram, and even the Internet in general) and get back into living — sharing conversations with friends and family, taking in nature, and enjoying life without the constant need to check in with our phones.

Zuckerberg loved her 90-hour workweeks at Facebook, but decided to step back from the company at the end of her pregnancy with her son. It was this life change that she credits with helping her see the need to unplug — for both kids and adults. She's not just resting on her laurels, however. Zuckerberg recently released two books: for adults, she penned "Dot Complicated: Untangling Our Wired Lives," and for kids, she wrote "Dot," about a girl learning to unplug.

She explains more in this interview on the "Today" show:

Zuckerberg admitted in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle that it was difficult to unplug even while writing about the need to do it. But once she got the hang of it, it helped her recharge mentally and stay present with her family. "Gradually, over the course of a month, I loved being unreachable," she said. "I saw that the world didn't end if I waited to respond to an e-mail in six hours, rather than six minutes," she remembered.

Earlier this year, I conducted my own unplugging experiment, going Facebook-free for one week and gadget-free for one weekend. And I've been thinking it's time for another social media vacation — not because I don't like social media, but because I've found myself checking in more frequently than I care to admit. Which means that I'm not tuning in to what's happening right around me. With the holidays approaching, this feels like the perfect time to heed Zuckerberg's advice and untangle myself from my phone and computer while taking more time to really hang with my family.